Bit by Bit
by rumovercoke
Summary: The way they moved closer to each other in his bed had been a very gradual thing. A very, very gradual thing. Deliberate? Maybe. But would Rei ever admit that? Never. A NagiRei piece (yes, in that order).


**Be patient with me, I know the tense is kinda weird—trust me it'll make full sense with the second chapter.  
This is my first non-KnB fic... Enjoy!**

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The first time Nagisa had come over to Rei's house, the place had been a war-zone afterward. Nagisa's shoes had been carelessly tossed to the side of the entryway, popcorn had been microwaved and unpopped kernels were left everywhere, books had been pulled out and _left_ out, and Rei's initially neat bed had been transformed into a pile of disheveled sheets—Nagisa had insisted his comforter was the most comfortable he'd ever seen and proceeded to twist and wrap it around himself until he looked like a plushy caterpillar. The mess was so bad that Rei actually forbade Nagisa from coming over again.

That restriction only lasted about a week, though, due to Nagisa's incessant pestering to visit a second time. Rei had been hesitant to say yes, but once Nagisa quieted down and his voice took on that serious, sincere tone he occasionally used, promising to respect Rei's space better… he'd broken down.

The first thing Nagisa did upon entering his home that day was kick off his shoes and pretty much dive into Rei's bed—this much Rei had expected to happen, but he secretly thanked the heavens that the destructive ball of energy that was his teammate hadn't disturbed anything else yet. The two of them chatted while Rei worked on his calculus homework until Rei asked Nagisa a question and was met with silence… and Rei realized he was asleep. He seemed to be exhausted, maybe from practice, so Rei simply smiled to himself and only woke the boy up when the sun started to disappear behind the horizon. He smiled even more when Nagisa couldn't recall falling asleep at all.

And that's where it started.

Every day after practice, from that day on, Nagisa got off at Rei's stop, followed him home, and ran to his bed. Every day, they talked while Rei tackled his homework. Every day, Nagisa fell asleep in the middle of their conversation. And every day, Rei would let him sleep until sunset before waking him up so he could get home before dark.

Gradually, though, Rei would let him sleep thirty minutes more than usual, then an hour later than usual… which he simply chalked up to being absorbed in calculations and formulas. One day, after Nagisa had already fallen asleep, he happened to think to himself that his bed looked slightly more comfortable than his chair for once and he sat on the side of it as he pored over a history textbook. Another day, he thought his back kinda hurt from sitting up and laid down as he read.

It wasn't long before Rei found himself waking up without realizing he'd fallen asleep in the first place, always with a textbook or notebook either lying flat on his chest or having fallen off the side of his bed. And after that started happening, it wasn't long before the thought,

_I think I'll just rest my eyes for a few minutes._

Entered his mind. Once he resolved to take a short nap, Rei neatly placed his books on the coffee table by his bed after setting his phone alarm to go off in a half hour… and glanced over at the back of the blond sleeping soundly next to him.

_Should I get under the sheets? He was here first.  
W-wait a second! This is _my_ bed!_

Rei shuffled around and settled under the covers, trying not to be too surprised by how warm it was underneath. Way warmer than when he went to bed—ah, that must be because of the body heat. Obviously. Rei shut his eyes and waited for the warmth and softness enveloping him to lull him to sleep but couldn't keep them closed for long. He opened them again, intently staring at the messy, wavy mop of hair facing him.

Nagisa hummed contently and his leg twitched, making his foot bump against Rei's leg and it finally struck Rei—that even though he'd been nodding off in the same bed as him all week, this was the closest they'd ever been.

Well, that wasn't technically true—he'd been hugged countless times by the boy, even at practice while the two of them were shirtless, but still, this felt… different. In class, physical contact with him was playful and sometimes embarrassing and at practice, everyone was so cold from the water that skin against skin felt like almost nothing. But right then, the body heat and plush fabric of his comforter weren't the only components making Rei warm. There was a sudden but undeniable friction of desire in the air around them. And an intoxicating smell.

How… how had he just noticed Nagisa's scent?

Or no, he guessed he had before but now that he was staring holes into the back of the boy's head, wanting desperately to get closer to him, he was finally aware of it. It was something both comforting and…

Oh god, no, _arousing._

The mental battle Rei held with himself raged mercilessly but ended quickly. He'd tried to keep himself from inching closer and sneaking his arms around Nagisa's waist, but the need to smell him, touch him, and share that warmth he was feeling proved far too strong—even if he couldn't stop imagining how creepy and ugly he looked right then, clinging and breathing into his teammate's hair like that. The word that came to his mind in that moment was _fluffy._

And he was finally able to drift into the most peaceful sleep he'd ever experienced.

When his alarm went off and pulled him back into the real world, Rei had glanced down and freaked out. He was holding Nagisa, he was cuddling with Nagisa, he was _the big spoon to Nagisa's little spoon._ The harsh electronic sound managed to stir the smaller boy from his sleep, too, and he began to shift but suddenly stopped when he realized there was a person with their arms wrapped around his stomach. Not just wrapped around, but tenderly holding him.

Not just holding him close, but resting their face against his head.

And not just any person—but Rei.


End file.
